I'm posting this for you, P.  I've taken out your names... but I wanted
to get this posted ASAP in case someone has heard of this before.
 
[Moderator's note: This was forwarded with the permission of original
author.  BIG]
    ____
I received this from a friend.  I've never heard of this in ferrets before.
 
 Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 20:47:30 -0800
 From:  <[log in to unmask]>
 
On Superbowl sunday, just a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I adopted
Sasha, a 2 year old shelter rescue .
 
The day after we brought her home, we took her to the vet to get a check-up,
as we were concerned about her raspy breathing.  The vet checked her over
and, after feeling a large lump in her thorasic area, asked to do xrays,
which we approved.  The xrays, which we looked over with the vet, showed a
large mass directly above her heart, between her lungs and laying on her
laryx.  The vet was concerned and sent the xrays to a radiologist
specializing in ferrets.  The radiologist called back the next day and
recommended an ultrasound and a biopsy, which we approved.  The concern
being that the lump/mass was lympoma, an abcess or a cyst.  The ultrasound
and biopsy were done yesterday and upon calling for the results today, the
vet informed us that no cancer cells were found in the biopsy but that a
micro bacterium was found in a smaller mass found near her stomach.
(Biopsies were taken from both masses, the liver and the spleen - spleen
showed up enlarged on the xrays).
 
The results indicate that the bacterium may be of the tuberculosis family
and the vet is highly concerned that it may be the form transmittable to
people.  The vet is scheduling surgery with a ferret-specialized vet for
removal of the masses and culturing of the tissues to determine if it is TB
and, if so, the form transmittable to humans.
 
Since human-type TB is transmittable via the air, the vet is highly
concerned because if the cultures come back as human-type TB, many, many
people will have to be tested for it .
 
We're talking *hundreds* of potential exposures.  Now, we won't know for
sure until after the cultures are done and I won't know until tommorrow when
the surgery can be done.  The vet was optimistic and said it may be simply a
ferret-type form of TB or a form of TB only applicable to Sasha, or it may
not be TB at all, BUT, he was terribly concerned about getting the cultures
done ASAP.
 
In the meantime, we are just loving Sasha to death and doing everything in
our power to make her comfortable and happy.  Aside from all these medical
checks, she has been very active, playful, curious, loving and sweet.  She
eats and drinks well (we spoil her and only give Sasha and Jacob only
Totally Ferret and Britta-filtered water).
 
I'd appreciate any healthy-ferret, non-human TB vibes anyone can spare.
 
Thanks-
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[Posted in FML issue 2212]